Tanya Kersey at Hollywood Black Film Festival Founder dies at 61

• Tanya Kersey at Hollywood Black Film Festival Founder dies at 61
• She had been battling multiple health issues for many years
• Her death was announced by her daughters Monique Love and Brittany Love and sister Lisa M. Kersey on Facebook.

Tanya Kersey, founder of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, died Monday of cardiac arrest in in Rancho Cucamonga, California. She was 61.

Her death was announced by her daughters Monique Love and Brittany Love and sister Lisa M. Kersey on Facebook. According to her family,Kersey had been battling multiple health issues for many years and “passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones.”

Prior to founding the film festival in 1998 and serving as its executive director, Kersey was the founder and CEO of the entertainment industry trade publication Black Talent News and its website BlackTalentNews.com. She had previously been an entertainment journalist for various publications.

Kersey also started a small film consulting company called The Kersey Group.

The Hollywood Black Film Festival was a yearly celebration of Black movies that brought together well-known and up-and-coming filmmakers, popular movie and TV stars, writers, industry executives, new artists, and people from all over the world, including Southern California. Over the years, more than 40,000 people attended, and more than 1,000 films were shown. The last festival was in 2018. Over the years, guests have included Sidney Poitier, Forest Whitaker, John Singleton, Ice-T, Blair Underwood, Loretta Devine, and Antwone Fisher.

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Kersey was born and raised in New York City. Before she turned to writing, she worked as a model and actress, which she later called “uneventful.” She co-wrote the book Black State of the Arts: A Guide to Developing a Successful Career as a Black Performing Artist in 1991. Later, she had a busy career as a public speaker.